HAVERFORD, Pa. - Nina Voith's game-high 18 points helped the Haverford College women's basketball team take down defending champion Gettysburg College, 61-49, on Friday night and advance to the Centennial Conference final for the first time in program history.
Feeding off the energy from the home crowd, the top-seeded Fords (22-3) jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the contest and never looked back.
Elizabeth Lynch's layup at 8:29 gave the hosts their first double-digit lead (19-9) of the night while the fifth-seeded Bullets (16-10) had trouble finding any space to operate due to the Haverford defense.
Gettysburg did not reach double figures on the scoreboard until the seven-minute mark of the first half due to the Fords' defensive pressure.
Consecutive jumpers from senior Hope Rainey extended Haverford's lead to 12 with 4:29 to go until intermission before a late surge from the Bullets made it a six-point game at the half (25-19).
The Fords fought off several rally attempts by the defending champions early in the second half. Three different times Gettysburg moved within three points and each time Haverford had the answer.
Senior Rianna Doane's second three-pointer of the night cut the Fords' advantage to five with 9:20 on the clock but an 8-0 run by Haverford provided the hosts with their largest lead of the night (47-34) with five minutes remaining in regulation.
Voith added an exclamation point on the surge by converting an old-fashioned three-point play off an unselfish look from Lynch on the fastbreak.
The Bullets managed to move within single digits for the last time on two free throws by Emily Duggan with a little over two minutes left in the contest before the Fords went 8-for-10 from the foul line over the rest of regulation to seal the historic victory.
Haverford's defense played a big part in the semifinal win as the Fords scored 17 points off of 17 Gettysburg turnovers.
Lynch and Jacquelyne Pizzuto tallied nine points apiece while Rainey and Cara Wyant chipped in with seven points each.
Five different Fords grabbed at least five rebounds with junior Shannon Smith leading the team-wide effort with nine.
Gettysburg leading scorer Caroline Murphy needed 14 shots to tally a team-high 13 points. Duggan recorded a double-double with 10 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
After only beating the Bullets once in program history prior to this season, Haverford has now won three consecutive games over Gettysburg.
Looking to claim the first Centennial crown in program history, the Fords face third-seeded Johns Hopkins University (18-7) for the conference title and automatic bid to the NCAA tournament at Gooding Arena on Saturday at 7 p.m.